Pneumatically-operated trap and door for vehicles



Oct. 8, 1929. P. R. FORMAN 1,730,880

PNEUMATICALLY OPERATED TRAP AND DOOR FOR VEHICLES Filed Jan. 9, 1926 5Sheets-Sheet l P. R. FORMAN 1,730,880

PNEUMATICALLY OPERATED TRAP AND DOOR FOR VEHICLES Oct. 8, 1929.

Filed Jan. 9, 1926 5 Sheets-Sheet gnvemtoz 7 Q W @51 A; a m/M P. R.FORMAN Oct. 8, 1929.

PNEUMATICALLY OPERATED TRAP AND DOOR FOR VEHICLES Filed'Jan. 9, 1926 5SheetsSheet vwemtoz 351 1 Qbtomws Jan/ 11344;}

Oct. 8, 1929. v p R. FQRMAN 1,730,880

PNEUMATIOALLY OPERATED TRAP AND DOOR FOR VEHICLES Filed Jan. 9, 1926 5Sheets-Sheet 4 &\\\\ \\\\1 O awweutoz @51 abtommao M +7 1% EHICLES P. R.FORMAN Oct. 8, 1 92 9.

PNEUMATICALLY OPERATED TRAP AND DOOR FOR V Filed Jan. 9, 1926 5Sheets-Sheet 5 R wueuto'c EUILA?ICALLY-OPERATFD T JERSEY, ASSIGNORNATIONAL PNEUMATIC .AJIIGN 01'! WEST VIRGINIA ill A151) DOOR FORVEHICLES Application filed January 9, 1526. Serial No. 50,229.

or on the other, or on both sides of the two cars between which he isstanding.

Another object is to provide a pneumatic system of trap and door controlwhereby the operator standing between two adjacent cars may select andopen any one door or group of doors on the two cars between which he isstanding.

It is also within the purview of this invention to provid air jumpersbetween a number oil. cars so tl'iat an operator may control theoperation of the doors in any numher of cars from one point.

A still further object of this invention the provision or pneumaticsystem of trap anddoor control whereby the doors alone may be opened inany of the sequences, described above or both the traps and doors may heso opened.

it further object of this invention is to provide a three-way valve ofspecial construction by means 01" which the door at one end and on oneside of th car may he opened, or both the trap and door may be opened.

By the provision cit tour of these valves at each end of the car, it ispossible to open as desired any one door and trap or finally all thedoors, or all the doors and traps at the four corners oi? the car. It isalso possible for the operator from his positionbetween two adjacentcars to control all the doors on the two cars as just described and bymeans ot air jumpers to selectively control the op eration of all thedoors in a train of any number of cars.

These and other objects will appear in the description which follows.

The invention comprises substantially the construction, combination,arrangement and relative location of parts as will he more :51. i. diselose d hereinafter.

Referring to the drawings in which the same reference numerals are usedto indicate the same parts throughout the several views,

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic plan view of a vehicle showing the trap anddoor controling system in place.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary View more or le. s diagrammaticshowing the trap and door engines, the control valve and the necessarypiping for controlling the opera- 01 a vehicle.

3 is an end elevational view of a vehi cle showing the relative locationof the trap and door engines.

Fig. 4.- is an enlarged detailed view of the method oi supporting thedoor.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary side elevational view of a vehicle with parts ofthe door broken away showing the location of the trap and door engines.

Fi 6 is an enlar ed fra mentar View of.

the trap and door engines and the mountings.

Fi 7 is a View similar to that of Fig. 6 but looking towards the frontof the car.

Fig. 8 is a top plan view of the three way valve.

F ig. 9 is a plan view of the valve block.

Fig. 10 is a front elevational view of the three-way valve.

Fig. 11 is a plan view of the valve block showing the valve headsuperposed on its seat.

Fig. 12 is an elevational view of the valve head showing the arrangementof the passages. f

Fig. 13 is a side elevational view of the three-way valve. f

Fig. 14 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a double check valve.

The present day practise in multiple unit train operationin crowdedcities of making up a long train of cars to accommodate the rush hourcrowds necessitates some convenient method of trap and door controladapted to the common method of adding to or removing cars from a trainas needed. It is necessary to provide a system whereby the traps anddoors may be selectively controlled from the same point or points as newcars tion of the door and trap at one end and side are added to orremoved from a train ithout causing any undue delay in making airconnections between the fluid pressure lines of the individual trainunits. These conditions must be met for a system where a minimum numberor" conductors or operators are used as is the general tendency inmodern railway operation.

My system at once meets all these conditions since it is so constructedthat by add 5 air jumpers between the fluid pressure lines of the carsas they are added the doors on all train units may be selectivelycontrolled from a single point by a single operator or from apluralityof points by as many op erators if desired.

in Eiigs. 1 to T, inclusive, the vehicle bot y is shown in general at 1having end doors 2 which provide .asy movement of passengers between theseveral units of train. At each of the corners of the car are provideddoors 3, il, 5, 6 and step trap doors 7, 6, 9, 10 respectively. Thedoor: are operatively connected r spec 'vely pneumatic door engines ofthe well known balanced piston type, 11, 12, 13 and and the trap doors7, 8, 9, 10 are respectively connected to pneumatic engines 15, 16, 17,18 of the same type.

At each end of the car are provided four three-way valves which areindicated as 19, 20. 21, 22, 23, ant All of these valves are exactly thesame in construction and will he described in detail The feed pipe lines26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32 and 33 are connected between valves 19, 20,21, 22, 23, 24, 25 ant 26 respectively and the fluid pressure supplytank, which is not shown, for the sake of clearness.

The view of Fig. 2 will now be described in detail since all the othervalves work in the same way. When the valve handle of valve 19 is inposition A, fluid. pressure is supplied from the source through line 26,through the valve, as will be explained, line 34L, double check valvewhich prevents fluid pressure from getting into line d0, line 36, doublecheck valve 3? which prevents fluid pressure from gettin into line 89,line 38 and thence to the valve puller on door engine 1 1 which willthen open the door 6. On the other hand, it the valve handle is n'iovedto position C, fluid pressure travels from the source through feed pipe26, through the valve 19, line %1, double check valve 42. which preventsfluid pressure from reaching line 45, line 4+3 and thence to the valvepuller or" the step trap door engine 18 which then opens the trap door10. At the same time fluid pressure travels through line 10, doublecheck valve line 36, double check valve 37, and line 38 to open the door6 as before. Thus when the valve handle is in position C both the trapand door are opened.

In Fig. 141, a double check valve is shown which has a hollow bodyportion with three integral threaded nipples A B and C. Within the bodyportion is a movable cylindrical member D having tapered ends which seatrespectively in opposite ends of the body portion. -When fluid pressureis applied at A, D moves so as to close off C and permit fluid pressureto travel from A to B. hen fluid pressure is applied at C, D closes A and permits fluid pressure to travel from C to B.

As may be readily raced in Fig. 1, when the valve handle of valve is inposition A door 5 may be opened and when in position C both trap 9 andthe door 5 are opened. When the valve 19 is in position 13, fluidpressure is exhausted from both lines and 11 (see Fig. and the door 6and corresponding trap will close. In a like manner valve controls door4 and trap 8, and valve 21 controls door 3 and trap "F. A similarcontrol may be had of all the doors and traps from the other end of thecar using valves 23, 2 i, and 26.

It is, of course, evident, that the three-way valves may be placed onthe exterior of the end walls of the car as disclosed in the Hedley etal. Patent No. 1,561,416? of November 17, 1925 so that the operator maystand on the platform between two adjacent cars and selectivelycoi'itrol the doors on any number of cars when air jumpers are usedbetween adacent The pipes marked F lead from the fluid pressure sourceto the door engines which as has been stated are or the well knownbalanced piston type extensively used in this art.

Tn i is shown, in detail, the door support. The door 5 is supported by abracket 106 having a roll 107 riding in the track 108 and provided witha rain shield 109.

In Figs. 6 and 7 are shown in detail the connections between the enginesand the trap and door. At the back edge of the door 3 is a track 16 inwhich a roller fl? mounted on the lever 48 rides. The lever 48 is boltedto the disk l9 on the door engine which disk is adapted to be rotated bythe movement of the piston. Thus, as the arm 18 is rotated upwardly. thedoor 3 slides to the right.

On the trap door engine 16 is a lever 50, adapted to be oscillated bythe engine piston having pivotally attached thereto a rod 51 connectedto a bell crank lever 52. The crank lever is rigidly secured to therotatable shaft 53 which has secured thereto two arms 51 upon which issecured the trap door 7. Thus when the arm moves to the left the armsmove upwardly carrying the trap with them.

A detailed description or the three-way valve follows:

Referring to Figures 8 to 13, the valve includes a block having integralprojections 61 to be used as supports. On the upper face of the block 60is bolted a cap 62 having a hollowed out portion 63 (Figure 13), a hoodmember 64-, and projection (35. On the bottom end of the block isscrewed a hollow cap 66 which encloses the valve head 67 for the valveseat ('38 formed on the bottom face of the block 60. In the cap 66 is aspring pressed thimble 69 which aids in holding the valve head on thealve seat. The thimble is forced upwardly by means of a threaded plug 70and a spring 71 lying within the thimble 69.

Extending vertically through the hole 72 in the valve block 60 is avalve stem 73 having its upper end iii-shaped to receive a handle 74.with an opening to fit over the D-shaped end. It will be noted that thehandle 7-1 can only be put on or taken off in position B through theslot 75 in the cap 64.

Encircling the valve stem 73 and secured thereto is a collar 76 havingdetents therein which engage the spring pressed plunger 77 in theextension 65. This plunger holds the valve in. any one of its threepositions until forcibly removed therefrom. The valve head 87 receivesthe valve stem 73 for. rotation with it. i

A threaded opening 78 in the block 60 is connected by passage 79 to portopening. 80 in the valve seat, and is intended to. receive the pipe line84. The pipe line ll is attached to threaded opening 81 which isconnected by passage 89. to port 83 in the valve seat. The pipe 26screws into opening 84 which s connected by a passage 85 to the portopening 86 in the valve seat. The exhaust passage 91 is connected to thegroove 87 through port 92.

The valve head (37 has a groove 87 and a groove 88 in its face, saidgroove 88 having at its ends, holes 89 and 90, extending through thevalve head.

The operation of the valve is as follows:

lVhen the valve handle is in position A fluid pressure enters passage 84through pipe 26, and travels through passage 85, port 86, groove 88,port 80, passage 79 and thence to the valve puller of the associateddoor ongine through pipe 34;. At the same time the fluid pressure passesthrough hole 89 in the valve head 67 into the chamber of the cap 66 toaid in maintaining the valve head on its seat.

lVhen the alve handle is moved to position C, fluid pressure from thesource enters passage 85 through pipe 26 and then travels through portopening 86.;1roove 88, port opening 83. passage 82' and thence to thevalve puller on the associated trap engine through pipe line all. Asbefore fluid pressure aids in holding the valve head on its seat bytravelinnthrough the hole 90 on the valve head.

Finally, when the valve handle is in position 13, the lines connected tothreaded openings 78 and 81. exhaust through groove 87, port opening 92,passage 91 and thence to the atmosphere.

It will be seen by the above description that I have produced a valveand door control system which is simple and cheap to construct and easyto maintain in efiicient operating condition.

It is evident that many changes will readily suggest themselves to oneskilled in the art, and Ido not desire to be limited by the preferredembodiment which has been shown for purposes of-illustration but ratherby the spirit and scope of the appended claims by vehicles, thecombination of separate means for operating the trap and door withsingle pneumatic means for selectively controlling the operation of saidoperating means.

3. In a vehicle having trap and doorway barriers, independent means foroperating said barriers and pneumatic means for controlling saidoperating means whereby either the door way barriers or the trap anddoor way barriers may be operated from a single point.

4:. In a vehicle having a plurality of trap and door way barriers,independent means for operating said barriers and pneumatic means forcontrolling said means whereby either a door barrier or door and trapbarrier may be opened. I I

5. In a vehicle having a plurality of trap and door ways, barriers insaid ways, pneumatic means for operating said barriers, and a pluralityof independent means for independently operating said barriers from aplurality of points. I

6. In a train comprising a plurality of vehicle units having trap anddoor ways, barriers in said ways and a plurality of. manually operatedpneumatic means for selectively controlling either the door barriers orthe trap and door barriers in said plurality of Vehicle units. 7. In atrain comprising a plurality of vehicle units having trap and door ways,barriers in said ways, and a plurality of independent manual means forselectively controlling from a single station the operation of all thedoor barriers or all the trap and door )arriers on one side of thetrain.

8. In a train comprising a plurality of vehicle units having trap anddoor ways, barriers in said ways, pneumatic means for opening saidbarriers, anda plurality of valve means at a single control point forselectively controlling said opening means whereby all the doorbarriersor all the trap and door barriers on one side of the train may be openel.

9. In a train comprising a plurality of vehicle units having trap anddoor ways, bar riers in said ways, pneumatic means for opening saidbarriers, and a plurality of control eans between any two adjacent unitsof a train for selectively operating all the barriers on either side ofthe train.

10. In a train comprising; a plurality of vehicle units having trap anddoor ways, barriers in said ways. pneumatic means operable to open saidbarriers, and a plurality of valve means operable from a point betweenany two adjacent vehicle units whereby all the door barriers or the doorand trap barriers on one side of the train may be opened.

11. In a vehicle having trap and door ways, barriers in said ways, aplurality of means comprising pneumatic door engines for selectivelyopening said barriers, a plurality of three-way valves and circuit meansbetween said engines and valves.

12. In a vehicle having trap and door way I barriers in said ways, aplurality of means comprising pneumatic door engines for opening saidbarriers, a plurality of manually operated valves, and pneumatic circuitconnections including double check valves whereby either the doorbarriers or trap and door barriers may be operated.

13. In a vehicle having trap and door ways, barriers in said ways, aplurality of means comprising pneumaticdoor engines for openinnsaidbarriers, a plurality of three-way valves and pneumaticcircuitconnections in cluding double check valves whereby all the doorbarriers or all the trap and door barriers on one side of the vehiclemay be operated independently.

14. In a train comprising a plurality of vehicle units having trap anddoor ways, barriers in said ways, a plurality 01"- means comprising adoor engine for each trap barrier and a door engine for each doorbarrier, a plurality of three-war valves at each end of each vehicleunit, and circuit connections ineluding double check valves for saidengines and valves whereby from a point between any two adjacent unitsof the train all the door barriers or all the trap and door barriers maybe operated.

15. In a train comprising a plurality ot vehicle units having trap anddoor ways, barriers in said ways, a plurality of means comprising a doorengine for each trap barrier and a door engine for each door barrier, aplurality of three-way valves at each end of each vehicle unit, andcircuit connections including double check valves for said engines andvalves whereby from a point between any two adjacent units of the trainsall the door barriers, or all the trap and door barriers on one side ofthe train may be operated.

16. In a vehicle having trap and door ways,

msaseo barriers in said ways, for operating c said vehicle forselectively controlli either all the door barriers or all the trap anddoor barriers on one side of the vehicle.

17. In a vehicle having trap and door ways, barriers in saicw ways,means for operating said barriers and means at each end of said hicletor selectively controlling all the barriers in said vehicle.

18. In a vel .lcle having trap and door ways, barriers in said ways,means for operating said barriers and means each end oat said vehiclefor selectively controlling all the door barriers or all the door andtrap barriers in said vehicle from either end of said vehicle.

19. In a vehicle having tr. p and door wars, bar iers on said ways,plurality of means ior operating said barriers, pneumatic means forselectively controlling said means to open either the door barriers orthe trap and door barriers, said pneumatic control means being soconstructed as to permit closin said barriers.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set 1y hand on this 30th day ofDecember A. I),

PARIS It. I ORMAN.

